Accosted at Costco today

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There were only two lines open at the Costco checkout, and my husband and I ...

Accosted at Costco today

There were only two lines open at the Costco checkout, and my husband and I were in one. There was a lady being checked out, and then one guy ahead of us.

The guy looked odd. He was thin, appeared to be middle-aged, was wearing black pinstripe pants, black shoes, black windbreaker jacket, glasses, and had blondish-white hair in a shaggy, long European hairstyle. If I were to stereotype him, he looked like a sickly European interior designer.

He had only one item, a bulk box of some kind of Immune booster. (..which makes the following somewhat funny, now that I think about it.)

My husband gently pushed his box forward so he could lay down the grocery divider so we could start putting our groceries on the rolling table.

The man mumbled something to the checkout lady, she said something back to him, and then he put his hands up and in a frustrated voice said he was going to go get another box. He walked off.

The checkout lady rolled her eyes and cleared his sale and started to ring up ours. She cracked a joke, and it was then I learned the man was upset because my husband touched his box. Will just shook his head.

We're halfway through being rung up when the man walks back with a new box. Now he's really agitated, because he sees he's been bounced out of line and we're at the register instead. He snaps at the checkout lady, waving his hands and mumbling loudly, "this man tried to push my groceries out of the way to shove his way ahead of me" and more nonsense, and continues to wave his hands around and get louder.

By now my husband has moved around the other side of the checkout to reach for our groceries, and I've moved to the guy's 9 o'clock position.

Now the man turns to my husband, trying to get up in his face. My husband, when he's embarrassed, chuckles. The chuckle, combined with Will telling him to calm down and that it's no big deal, further angers the man.

The man's face is really angry now, and he's threatens my husband to "back off" and proceeds to fluff up and make threatening postures.

I tell him, "Back Off." I watch the man's hands and face. The man ignores me and continues to try to get into Will's face with "you want to start something" while Will is staying calm, trying to get the groceries and leave. I say louder, "Back off or I'll call the police."

A male Costco employee intervened, and Will and I headed towards the door. I keep looking over my shoulder the entire time. The man disappears and then walks in a big circle with the male employee behind him, arms out "herding style."

He didn't follow us out to the lot.

Will said the man cursed something in a foreign language to him, something possibly German starting with an "i." Will didn't seem to think he was a threat, I said he was the kind of guy who would've waited until your back was turned before he stuck you in the kidneys.

The man "wasn't right" and was either off his meds or needed to be prescribed some.

Hah! Avoid those European Interior Designers. I had one go ballistic on me because I had 11 items in a 10-item checkout line (the pack of gum my wife grabbed at the last second put us at 11)... This was a female European Interior Designer, probably a not-so-distant relative of your CostCo friend. But it was very much the same in how it played out.

This happened years ago, but still prompts some very funny discussions at the "express check out" lines.

The facts are indisputable. There is more data supporting the benefits of Conceal Carry than there is supporting global warming. If you choose ignorance, in light of all the evidence, in order to bolster your irrational fear of guns, you are a greater threat to society than any gun owner.

Acute victim selection failure there. He's lucky the Costco worker intervened, lest he discover the hard way that his chosen outlets for his attitude were more than capable of protecting themselves....

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined". - Patrick Henry

I got it too....he might not have stuck you with something, but a bite that broke the skin could possibly been just as deadly, only taking longer to occur.

Hmm, I hadn't made THAT connection earlier. I was thinking he was one of these mentally ill people who thinks germs are always out to get them, and got upset because my husband got his "unclean" hands all over his box.

Another reason I don't like the thought of hand-to-hand fighting is you never know what kind of diseases the other person has. *shudder*

My husband has to deal with mentally ill, often wacky acting kids as part of his job, so I'm glad he acted calm around this guy.

I've had many issues at costco, not the least of which is the "loss prevention" guy that checks receipts and carts. I didn't realize it was that kind of place when I signed up, and have since stopped going.

As far as the crazy foreigner goes, after 4+ years in Germany I can say that we can't claim to have cornered the market on Crazies. That ones just lucky he didn't go to far...

Our closest Costco is in Omaha, NE. we stopped there shortly after they opened, when I walked up to the door and seen the "no guns", I knew I did not need to join. Sam's club gets my business, I can and do carry there.

Our closest Costco is in Omaha, NE. we stopped there shortly after they opened, when I walked up to the door and seen the "no guns", I knew I did not need to join. Sam's club gets my business, I can and do carry there.

Glad nothing got broke. It's spooky out there.

Z

Since Sam's Club is owned by Wal-Mart I'm done. Not another dollar. I don't find the prices that much better than a couple of other places around.